14 DAY TRIAL // Earlier this week, the US Food and Drug Administration introduced a new anti-smoking campaign it's named Fresh Empire. The move targets minority teens, who the agency hopes to convince not to take up smoking, or if they're already in the habit of lighting up every now and again, to at least cut down.
This isn't the Administration's first anti-smoking campaign. It is, however, the first to use hip-hop to try and get the message across. Apparently, what the agency means to do is show multicultural youth between the ages of 12 to 17 that smoking isn't cool and not smoking is.
As part of this campaign, the Food and Drug Administration will run ads in the media, try to reach teens via digital platforms and implement anti-smoking programs at a local level. Scroll down to have a look at a couple of the ads the agency has so far come up with.
“Fresh Empire's messaging reflects hip-hop ideals such as being authentic, powerful, confident, fashionable, creative and trend-setting,” the Administration explains the campaign.
“The ads are intended to deliver tobacco education in a manner that is straightforward and relevant to hip-hop youth who relate to values such as working hard to achieve success and attaining or regaining control,” it further details.
Why hip-hop of all music styles?
The US Food and Drug Administration is well aware that not all teens listen to hip-hop. Still, it says it's chosen this music style as the backbone of its Fresh Empire anti-smoking campaign because studies have shown that smoking is more common among multicultural teenagers who listen to hip-hop.
This is partly because what the agency calls the hip-hop peer crowd is often targeted by pro-tobacco images and messages, and difficult to reach by mainstream anti-smoking campaigns, the agency adds.
The US Food and Drug Administration's Fresh Empire anti-smoking campaign will officially launch this coming Monday, with the ads set to air nationally for the first time just in time for the 2015 BET Hip-Hop Awards on October 13. The $128-million (€113-million) campaign will run for 24 months.
